Folding table



1936- c. w. SADENWATER ,0

FOLDING TABLE Filed July 5, 1955 INVENTOR CHARLES W .SADENWATER PatentedDec. 22, 1936 FOLDING TABLE Application July 5, 1935, Serial No. 29,849

3 Claims.

This invention relates to folding tables of the kind having a top, suchas an ironing board, with rear legs hinged thereto, and a front leghinged at its upper end to the middle part of the board. Tie-rodsconnect the lower end of the front leg to the rear legs, and twodiagonal braces are also hinged to the rear legs, their free endsadapted to be slidingly guided along the front leg. The diagonal bracesextend forwardly and upwardly, joining the board at the upper end of thefront leg when the table is erected.

Folding tables of such character are known, but my present inventiondiffers from earlier structures in several important features wherebynew and useful results are attained.

An object is to reduce the amount of hand labor heretofore required inthe manufacture of foldable tables of this class, enabling them to befabricated in mass production at unusually low cost, yet having adequatestrength and durability and being easy to fold and erect.

Another object is to provide a novel arrangement of the parts comprisingthe main joint structure. This joint is located near the center of theboard and by means of it the front leg and the diagonal braces are madeto act conjointly to releasably hold the table in its erected position.

A further object is to construct and arrange the legs and braces so theycan be folded very compactly against the board, thus conserving space inpacking the table for purposes of storage or shipment. Many earliertypes of folding ironing tables have been objectionable because thediagonal braces when folded rested upon the front leg and consequentlyrequired a shipping container almost twice as deep as that required forthe present improved structure.

With the above objects in view, and certain others which will appearlater in the specifications, my invention comprises the devicesdescribed and claimed and the equivalents thereof.

Fig. l is a side View of an ironing table embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a part sectional side view of the main joint, assembled, oneof the diagonal braces be ing removed, the section being taken on line22 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a View of the bracket shown in Fig. 2, as seen from below.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing the free ends of the diagonalbraces and the front leg, in folded position.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 4, in relation to theboard.

(Cl. 38117) i Fig. 6 is a small scale, part sectional, diagrammatic sideview of a modified form of the main joint bracket.

In the drawing like characters of reference indicate similar partsthroughout all the views.

The ironing board I is equipped with the usual rear legs 2, pivoted at3. Near the middle of the length of the board and secured centrally totheunder side thereof is a main joint bracket 4, to which the front leg5 of the table is pivoted, at 6.

Pivotally secured near the bottom end of the front leg, at I, is a pairof connecting rods 8. The rear ends of, rods 8 are pivoted to the rearlegs 2 at points 9, intermediate their ends.

Diagonal braces ID are secured to the pivots 9 and converge towards thebracket 4. The convergent ends of braces H] are connected togetherin'spaced relation by a bar II, and also by a second bar I2, as shown inFigs. 2 and 4. Bar I I is slidable along the front face 5a of the frontleg 5, the second bar I2 is at the rear thereof, and the two bars arespaced apart as shown at S, Fig. 4. Bar II extends across the upper sideof the diagonal braces Ill, see Fig. 2, and the second or rearward barI2 is beneath them. Each bar, II, I2 is preferably made of a piece ofmetal rod bent into U-shape to present two legs or shanks Ila, I211. Theshanks are received in holes in the braces Ill and are held by washersl3, by riveting, or otherwise. Bar I2, however, being merely a guidemember for leg 5, may be of any other desirable or convenient form, suchas a suitably shaped piece of Wood or a metal plate.

Considering now the mode of operation of the main joint and itsassociated parts when the table is to be unfolded and set up for use,the folded table is first stood on its rearward end and the free ends ofrear legs 2 are pulled away from the board I and downwardly. Bar II isthereby caused to slide along the front face 5a of the front leg 5 untilit arrives at the main joint bracket 4, where it enters wide mouthedslots I4 which are provided, one in each side wall of the bracket. Thespacing S of bars II and I2 is such as to compel the bar II to enter theslots It. Upon reaching the bottom of the slots the bar II is releasablyheld therein by means of a spring latch member I5 mounted on leg 5.Latch I5 is depressed by the bar II when it enters the slots, and whenthe bar arrives at the bottom of slots I4, the latch springs outwardly,as shown in Fig. .2. The assembled joint can not easily be sprung orracked and it provides a rigid durable support that will not wear andbecome loose after long service, as has frequently been the case inearlier main joint structures that consisted of pins and bearings which,for reasons of cheapness, were usually made of wood and soon becameworn.

To fold the table for storage, the latch I5 is depressed by hand,releasing bar II, which is slid along the front leg 5 in a downwarddirection, indicated by the straight arrow in Fig. 1. The diagonallyopposite locations, shown in Fig. 2, of the bars II and I2 relatively tothe braces I0 and leg 5, allow the legs and brace members to be stowedcompactly against the board, see Figs. 4 and 5, when the front leg 5 isrotated about its pivot 6 in the direction of the curved arrow, Fig. 2.

When thus stowed, the braces III, leg 5,. and bars II, I2 occupy thepositions shownin Figs. 4 and 5. It is seen that the front leg 5 liesflat against the under side of the board I and the two diagonal bracesIE] also lie flat, one on each. side of the front leg. Bar II is stowedbetween the leg 5 and the board I, and an outwardy offset portion of thesecond bar I2 lies across the outer face of the leg 5. The table thusfolded can be put into a very thin package.

Preferably, the board I, the legs 2, connecting rods 8, and braces I0are all made of wood. The main bracket 4 is of pressed metal and the twobars II, l2 are preferably made from pieces of round wire.

In the modified form of bracket and joint shown in Fig. 6 the bracket 4per se, is not formed with the slot I4, as in Figs. 2 and 3, but insteadits end 4a presents only one wall of such a slot. The opposite wall 4bis presented'by a block 4c which is appropriately shaped and spaced fromthe bracket Wall 4a, and'is fixed to the board I. .The modified form ofFig. 6 is introduced in this disclosure to show how a slot I4 may beproduced by employing a somewhat simplifiedform of bracket that requiresless metal in its manufacture, and to demonstate that the slot elementmay be provided by equivalent devices that perform the functions ofslots I4, Fig. 2, embodied in a structure somewhat modified.

It will be observed that the bracket 4 and the bars II, I2, and thespring latch I5, are the only metal parts, and that each of those partsis small and of extremely simple design, and consequently inexpensive,yet they co-operate to provide extraordinary stability and rigidity inthe erected table. They will not become worn and wobbly after longcontinued use, as has often been the case with joints that were made ofWooden parts.

By the means above described I have produced an extremely strong, rigidand durable main joint structure for folding tables of the characterdescribed. The simplicity of structure, ease of assembling and the smallnumb-er of parts employed enable these tables to be produced inquantities at very much lower cost than heretofore.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A folding table including a board, rear legs hinged thereto, diagonalbraces hinged to said rear legs and convergent toward their free ends, abracket secured to said board, and a front leg hinged to said bracket,having in combination, a bar fixed to the upper faces of said diagonalbraces adjacent their free ends and holding the braces in spacedrelation, said bracket presenting slots alined with the front face ofsaid leg and adapted to receive said bar, and a second bar parallel withsaid first mentioned bar and spaced therefrom, said second bar beingsecured to the lower faces of said braces, said front leg beingslidingly received in the space defined by said

